Sussex school over the moon ahead of Tim Peake conference

St Richard's Catholic College students at the radio 'buildathon' supported by Hastings Electronics and Radio Club. Photo courtesy of the school

Published:12:01Thursday 14 April 2016

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Secondary school pupils and staff in Sussex are over the moon as they will be speaking directly to British astronaut Tim Peake on Monday (April 18).

St Richard’s Catholic College, in Bexhill, is one of ten schools in the country to chat with the cosmic celebrity from Chichester onboard the International Space Station through an ARISS link.

Members of St Richard’s Amateur Radio Club will have the chance to ask Tim questions as part of the STEM Space Conference which will have all manner of space-themed exhibits to explore from 1.30pm to 5.30pm.

The call for Ask an Astronaut questions went out to more than a thousand pupils across the county and the East Sussex Astronomical Society.

Responses flooded in with queries ranging from the simple – what food are you most looking forward to when you return to Earth – to more specific science topics.

Space fever has swept through the school as pupils of all ages have been incorporating the universe into their classes, as well as numerous extra-curricular activities with visits from NASA and top lecturers.

Hastings Electronics and Radio Club supported pupils in an radio ‘buildathon’ where students constructed their own radio receiver from scratch.

St Richard’s has its very own ‘event’ radio call sign for the ARISS contact: GB4SRC.

STEM Sussex ambassadors helped the school get selected for the programme.